Nursing Faculty Handbook 2011-2012 - Saddleback College

SADDLEBACK COLLEGE
ASSOCIATE DEGREE NURSING PROGRAM
PHIILOSOPHY AND PURPOSES
The Nursing faculty endorses the philosophy, vision, and mission statement of
Saddleback College and in addition subscribes to the following beliefs about
people and health, nursing, and nursing process, education and educators, and
the teaching/learning process in nursing.
The Nursing Program Mission is to:
� Provide high quality, innovative education
� Support student success
� Instill in the learner the need for lifelong learning and professional
development and
� Prepare competent entry level registered nurses to meet the changing needs
of health care in the community.
Beliefs about People and Health
� A person is a biopsychosocial being and an adaptive organism. In response to
environmental changes, the person adapts.
� A person’s health status exists along a continuum.
� Health and illness may be relatively examined in terms of this continuum.
� Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs is used to prioritize health care needs.
� Health status may be influenced by the person’s life stage, their individualized
needs, culture, race, ethnicity and gender.
� The Nursing faculty affirms their belief in the worth and dignity of all persons
and the rights of the health care consumer to make informed choices
regarding personal health issues.
Beliefs about Nursing and Nursing Process
� Nursing is an art and science, integrating the biological and behavioral
sciences, as well as the humanities. It encompasses caring practices, the
application of theory, critical thinking, ethical principles, and advocacy within
the framework of the nursing process.
� Nursing cares for a diverse population and recognizes that this involves the
whole person, body, mind, and spirit, throughout the life cycle, from
beginning to end of life.
� The nurse promotes physical, mental, and spiritual wellness by teaching and
by example.
� The goal of nursing is to promote adaptation. This is accomplished by using
the nursing process in order to provide safe care and to promote effective
outcomes.
� Nursing requires communication skills, critical thinking, problem solving,
competency in skill performance, and the ability to intervene therapeutically.
� Nursing stresses health education and health promotion for the individual and
family across the wellness/illness continuum. It requires technological
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